Revue Inscription: the Journal of Material Text - Theory, Practice, History

La revue Inscription: the Journal of Material Text - Theory, Practice, History sera lancée en septembre 2020 et des articles sont recherchés pour son premier numéro. Les articles doivent être envoyés d'ici le 1^er juin 2020. Pour plus de détails, veuillez consulter l'appel de textes (en anglais seulement) ci-dessous.

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An Open Call: contributions sought for the first edition of Inscription, a new journal.

Inscription: the Journal of Material Text - Theory, Practice, History, will be launched this year. Its editors are Gill Partington and Adam Smyth; the Creative Editor is Simon Morris; and the designer is the Fraser Muggeridge Studio. Inscription will be published by the artist’s book imprint  : http://www.informationasmaterial.org/. Cliquez ou appuyez si vous faites confiance à ce lien." href="https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http://www.informationasmaterial.org/&data=02|01|virginie.mailhot@usherbrooke.ca|2c7e214e3415474e473808d7a986e08a|3a5a8744593545f99423b32c3a5de082|0|0|637164269072699671&sdata=lf+xDrow5H9I62gQ/FFIc5SHFM3ZMok1Q4U5TlMTX9E=&reserved=0" target="_blank" data-auth="Verified" data-mce-href="https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http://www.informationasmaterial.org/&data=02|01|virginie.mailhot@usherbrooke.ca|2c7e214e3415474e473808d7a986e08a|3a5a8744593545f99423b32c3a5de082|0|0|637164269072699671&sdata=lf+xDrow5H9I62gQ/FFIc5SHFM3ZMok1Q4U5TlMTX9E=&reserved=0" style="font-size: 1rem;">www.informationasmaterial.org in partnership with Leeds Beckett University.

Inscription is an innovative new journal which addresses the theme of the material text from a range of perspectives, bringing together the critical, historical, theoretical and creative. Inscription will be at home equally in the first century as the twenty-first and will feature work by practitioners - book artists, printmakers and writers - alongside academic discussion. Its focus is not just on the meanings and uses of the codex book, but also the nature of writing surfaces, the process of mark marking and printing. The journal’s theoretically aware, trans-historical and cross-disciplinary remit will break with the conventions of academic ghettoization, creating connections between areas that have much to say to one another – bibliography, the artist’s book, and media theory, for instance - enabling more wide-ranging conversation and unexpected juxtapositions. It promises not merely to add to the field but to set new agendas for the next phase of the development of the study of material texts.

In another break with the conventional academic journal, Inscription’s format will be equally innovative: inspired by Edgar Alan Poe's short story ‘A Descent into the Maelstrom’, the first half of the journal will be printed in columns travelling in the conventional direction from left to right towards the central spine, while the other side of the journal will be printed in columns from right to left, travelling towards the centre. The centre fold will be the colophon, laid out in a spiral, with the publishing information disappearing into the gutter. Each edition will have a guest artist-in-residence, poet-in-residence & writer-in-residence as well as an artist commissioned to design the double-sided cover; and each edition will be accompanied by a vinyl LP featuring an author reading from their work.

Our theme for the inaugural edition is ‘beginnings’. We are seeking articles of between 6-8,000 words that approach this theme from imaginative angles: the openings of books, front matter and title pages; the historical origins of particular book forms or writing technologies; the disciplinary origins of the traditions in which we work; or the knotty theoretical question of pinpointing ‘beginnings’ in the messy context of the material text. The theme is intended to be suggestive rather than prescriptive, and other, more oblique, unexpected or creative approaches are encouraged. Authors are welcome to include images with their text but copyright permissions must be obtained by the author prior to the submission deadline.

The first edition will be issued in September 2020: this means we will need finished articles submitted to us by 1 June 2020. All contributions will be double blind peer reviewed, and material will be available for Open Access. The properly diverse editorial board comprises some of most renowned and respected scholars and practitioners in their respective fields from across the globe.

Contributions or expressions of interest should be emailed to the editors at Inscriptionthejournal@gmail.com. You can follow Inscription at @inscription_jnl.